Argentina pastor opens ‘worship bar’ to protest coronavirus lockdown

An evangelical pastor in Argentina turned his church into a bar to protest the coronavirus restrictions he says are discriminating against houses of worship, according to local media.

Pastors dressed as waiters and carried Bibles on trays to bar tables set up inside the Comunidad Redentor (Redeemer Community) church in the city of San Lorenzo, protesting Gov. Omar Perotti's ban on church gatherings of 10 people or more, La Capital reports.

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“We are standing here today dressed like this, carrying a tray, because it seems this is the only way we can serve the word of God,” Daniel Cattaneo, senior pastor, said as he opened the “worship bar" last Wednesday.

The day also marked the church's 75th year as a congregation.

Daniel Cattaneo, senior pastor of Comunidad Redentor in San Lorenzo, Argentina, dressed as a waiter as part of a "worship bar" to protest bars opening before houses of worship in coronavirus restrictions.  (Com)

Most of the recorded 28,764 cases and 785 deaths have occurred in the country's capital city of Buenos Aires, not in the province of Santa Fe, where the church is located. Bars have begun opening but churches are still being limited to hold a maximum of 10 people.

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“We want to exercise our constitutional right to practice our faith,” Cattaneo told local media. “Bars can open, shops can open, why are they discriminating against us?”

The church held a worship service and the pastor preached.

Federico Picchio, a member of the church, tweeted at The Guardian: "We are fighting against an authoritarian and corrupt government that's limiting our religious freedom every day..."

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On Sunday, Cattaneo's church held a drive-in worship service with more than 1,600 people in cars, according to local media reports.

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